Shadowing Practice: Focus Your Tasks - David Goggins - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
1
I remember back when I was a better human being before I started being dependent on my phone
2
and dependent on this and dependent on that.
3
Literally, you can't even have a conversation with somebody nowadays because their minds are so out of it.
4
Or they're checking the Instagram.
5
Yeah, man.
6
I mean, like, hey, yeah.
7
So they're looking at you and their phone and they're here.
8
And then as you're having a serious conversation, an enlightening conversation, they then come out of nowhere and say, hey, did you hear about Trump?
9
You're like, what the fuck is your problem, man?
10
You can't hold a fucking attention span for longer than 15 seconds.
11
That's why you're not successful.
12
It takes a lot longer than 15 seconds to be focused on becoming rich, fucking becoming a better person,
13
becoming smarter, become more athletic, losing weight.
14
It takes time.
15
Your mind needs to be focused on that fucking task.
16
Just from how I how I write it and how it's on the page when I run I
17
Can't recall any of it.
18
I Cannot I cannot bring any of that
19
because I'm running how my mind is wired now is that everything I do is What I do?
20
Because the focus it takes for me to like right now.
21
I'm running.
22
I'm not like a great runner I'm not like injury free so people look at me.
23
Oh, it looks like he's limp I'm limping when he runs, I am limping when I run.
24
My body's jacked up so I'm focusing on how to get the best out of a broken body.
25
So everything I do is a total focus on what I'm doing at that point in my life.
26
But people don't wanna go through the process of focus, of teaching yourself how to truly focus.
27
Being focused on one thing at a time.
28
I have to be very present in everything I do.
29
Right now I'm in a rich role.
30
I'm not thinking about shit, but a rich role.
31
And what the fuck's coming out of your mouth right now?
32
That's what gives me a huge advantage in life, especially today in this day and age with There's so much shit going so fast and everybody wants to keep everything going,
33
everything up and everything.
34
I want to be the greatest, you know, the greatest multitasker of all time.
35
Not me.
36
If I put my 100% into what's in front of me, I will destroy it.
37
If I'm out here just multitasking and shit, I'm going to half-ass everything I do.
38
So that's, it is the most important thing in the world to me is being focused at the task at hand.
39
And it's getting harder and harder to do that because there are so many distractions and it's so easy to, it's so easy to distract yourself.
40
Yes, it is.
41
You don't ever have to be bored again with these things in our pockets.
42
No, but the one thing I'm most scared of in the world
43
is Losing losing touch with the the best thing in the world is your mind
44
Your mindset how you can picture yourself how you can focus
45
how you can drive how you can put yourself in
46
so many situations Get out of it
47
because those headphones you listen to those those phones that that we googled to find information
48
There's so many situations in my life where that's just not gonna help me It's not going to help me.
49
And you're able to just turn that off. So fast.
50
Because I know what's helped me.
51
None of that stuff has ever helped me.
52
None of that stuff has ever helped me.
53
What has helped me has been me alone getting my shit together
54
and being accountable for who I'm not and who I want to be.
55
It's the only thing that's helped me.
✨ Recommend Video
B21
53 sentences
YOU JUST NEED 2 MINUTES TO CHANGE | David Goggins motivational speech
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B2160 sentences
How to Get Your Focus Back (Trust me, You’re Not Cooked).
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B22
108 sentences
Focus on Yourself Not Others | Powerful Motivational Speech
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B2701 sentences
Train Your Brain To BECOME LIMITLESS & Achieve ANY GOAL You Have | John Assaraf
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
140 sentences
I used to be addicted to discipline until I realized this
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
414 sentences
ANYONE can have insane willpower. It's easy.
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
325 sentences
You can progress more in 6 minutes than you would in a month | Daniel Coyle
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
92 sentences
Focusing Deeply on One Thing | Robert Greene
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
375 sentences
The secret to concentration - How to increase your attention span | DW Documentary
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B216
123 sentences
Listening & Shadowing English Speaking Practice
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
329 sentences
2026 Is Winner’s Revenge Year— Kill Them With Success | Andrew Tate Motivation -Jim Rohn -Les Brown
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
782 sentences
This Keeps Men Pathetic, Lazy & Poor - Embrace Suffering To Escape Mediocrity | David Goggins
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 55 sentences and 648 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:19. The speaker talks fast, about 195 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| dependent adjective | /dɪˈpɛndənt/ | Relying upon; depending upon. |
| pocket noun | /ˈpɑ.kɪt/ | A bag stitched to an item of clothing, used for carrying small items. |
| wire noun | /ˈwaɪɚ/ | Metal formed into a thin, even thread, now usually by being drawn through a hole in a steel die. |
| nowhere adverb | /ˈnoʊ.(h)wɛɹ/ | In no place. |
| recall verb | /ɹɪˈkɔl/ | To withdraw, retract (one's words etc.); to revoke (an order). |
| spin verb | /spɪn/ | To rotate, revolve, gyrate (usually quickly); to partially or completely rotate to face another direction. |
| runner noun | /ˈɹʌnɚ/ | A person who moves, on foot, at a fast pace, especially an athlete. |
| athletic adjective | /æθˈlɛt.ɪk/ | Having to do with athletes. |
| nowadays adverb | /ˈnaʊ.ə.deɪz/ | At the present time; in the current era. |
| scare verb | /skɛɚ/ | To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way. |
| bore verb | /boɹ/ | To inspire boredom in somebody. |
| accountable adjective | /əˈkaʊntəbl̩/ | Obliged, when called upon, to answer (for one’s deeds); answerable. |
| headphones noun | /ˈhɛdfoʊnz/ | A pair of cushioned speakers worn over or in the ears so only the wearer can hear the sound. |
| mindset noun | /ˈmaɪn(d)ˌsɛt/ | A way of thinking; an attitude or opinion, especially a habitual one. |
| distraction noun | /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/ | Something that distracts. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 27 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like dependent, pocket, wire.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be focused · is wired · Being focused |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has ever helped · has helped |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.